New home sales up 16.1% to 1,055 in May

Transactions from non-permanent residents plunged as cooling measures took effect.

Two new project launches drove new home sales to rise 17%in May, according to data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority.

A total of 1,035 units were sold in May, excluding executive condominiums. This marks the highest new sales achieved in a single month since May 2022, when 1,355 units were sold.

Including executive condominiums, a total of 1,055 units were sold in May, 16.1% higher than the 909 total units sold in April.

Two major project launches boosted sales in May. 

The Reserve Residences on Jalan Anak Bukit at District 21 sold 523 or 71.4% of its 732 units. Meanwhile, the Continuum on Thiam Siew Avenue sold 225 units, 27.6% of its 816 units.

“[The Reserve Residences] was very well received due to its attractive pricing and proximity to many top schools in the Bukit Timah area, noted Christine Sun, Senior Vice President of Research & Analytics, OrangeTee & Tie.

“Moreover, integrated developments are rare and have always been popular among buyers for their convenience and high rentability,” Sun said.

Cooling measures take their toll on non-PR
The overall rise in new home sales masked the effectiveness of April’s property cooling measures. Data from URA Realis revealed that the number of non-landed new homes bought by non-permanent residents plunged by 47.8% to just 36 units in May, from 69 units in April. 

“The punitive ABSD rates for foreigners have clearly caused many to pause in their tracks in their homebuying journey, whilst PRs buying their first homes have remained insulated from the latest cooling measures,” said Lam Chern Woon, Head of Research and Consulting, EDMUND TIE. The cooling measures saw Additional Buyers’ Stamp Duty for foreign buyers rise to 60%.

“Nonetheless, we should not overlook the group of newly minted citizens and PRs. On average, we have about 50,000 citizenships and permanent residencies granted annually. The lower-tier ABSD rates for the new residents will undoubtedly sustain further property purchases,” Lam noted.

Transactions of permanent residents (PRs) and Singapore citizens, meanwhile, rose by 29% (114 units) and by 26.9% (881 units), respectively.

Other best-selling projects include the ECs, were The Landmark, The Atelier, Piccadilly Grand, Pullman Residences Newton, The Botany at Dairy Farm, North Gaia, Tembusu Grand, Leedon Green, Hyll on Holland, and One Holland Village Residences.

The proportion of Singaporean purchasers jumped from 82 per cent in April 2023 to 85.5 per cent last month, the highest figure since September 2022 (87.3 per cent). Last month's purchases also showed a significant rise from the past-year low of 66.5 per cent registered in December 2022.